The Week UK - 28.03.2020

6 NEWS Politics

THEWEEK 28 March 2020

Controversy of the week

Will the virus change us?

At theheigh tofthe Blitzin1941, the Labour minister Ernest

Bevin orderedan officialnamed William Beveridge to write

areportonnationalinsurance, said Simon Jenkins inThe

Guardian.Beveridge proposeda“cradle-to-grave”welfare

state. “Noone seemed tomind the cost. There wasawar on.”

There’sno waron today,but“everycrisis is an opportunity”

–and similar transformationsmay emerge fromthis pandemic.

It is quiteclear that thecrisiswill herald “fundamentalchanges

in our society”, said LeoMcKinstry in theDaily Express.

Greatchunks of theeconomyhave beennationalised. Wehave

been forced to rethink ourvalue s. “The idea that the NHS can

limp along,underfundedand overstretched, willno longer be

tolerable.” Aswe realisehow vulnerableour food and medical

suppliesare,wewillhaveto“strengthen domestic supplylines

andrebuild ourmanufacturingbase”.

“When the pandemic passes, themost extremebarriers to travelwillbe li fted,” said Gideon

Rachmanin the FT.“But it is unlikely that there will beafullrestoration of the globalisedworld

as it existedbefore Covid-19.” In timesofemergency,“people fall backonthe nation state”, which

alone has thefinancial andadministrativemuscl e–and theemotional cohesion–toweathersuch

storms. The crisiswill reinforce existingtrends formorelocalproduction,economicprotectionism

andtougher border controls. Itshould also drivesocialreform,said Kenan MalikinThe Observer.

In the past fortnight,we havesuddenly discoveredthat “unskilled workers” are actually crucial to

the functioning ofour society. Cleaners, shopkeepers,shelf-stackers, deliverydrivers–whose efforts

areoften “treatedwith contempt”–arethe oneswhohavekeptusgoing. Many middle-classpeople

havelearntwith ashock that statutory sick payisonly£94.25 perweek.The Health Secretary, Matt

Hancock, admittedonBBC’sQuestionTimethat he could notliveonthat. “Butyouexpect others

to live on it,” Fiona Bruce observed. “Therewillbenogoing back,” said Nick Timothy inTheDaily

Telegraph. Thisepisode will “forgeasolidaritythatsurvives long beyond themomentofdanger”.

“I like aniceportentasmuchasthe next shallow thinker,” saidDavidAaronovitchinThe Times.

ButIhavemydoubtsabouthow much will change. Short,sharppandemicsoften“leave verylittle

mark”; one historianof the SpanishFlucallsit“theforgotten epidemic”. Some fondly imagine that

Covid-19will makehumanity“huddlerounditstriba land familialfires”;Isuspect thatgloballife

will quicklyreassertitself. Certainlysomethings “will never be thesameagain”,said The Daily

Telegraph. Publichealth, the useoftechnology to workand shop,andour “attitudestowards

just-in-time, ultra-dense living” willchange. Nevertheless, whatmostpeople want–and thelonger

this goes on,themorethey’llwant it–is“to getbacktobusinessas usualas soon as we can”.

Bevin:sawopportunityinchaos

Spirit of the age

Good weekfor:

TheGreenGoddess,whowas brought outofretirement at the

age of 80to helpthe nation during itstime of crisis.ATVstar of

the 1980s,famous for hergreenleotard, DianaMoran will broad-

cast fitnessclassesonBBCBreakfastto encourage the over-70s to

exercise at home.Anxietiesabout the nation’sfitness have been

exacerbated by datafromfitness apps showing that inSpain, for

instance,step countshave fallen 69%inthe past month.

B&Q,which experie nced asurge in demand for products online,

as locked-downhouseholders resolvedto usetheir time todo abit

of DIY.Kingfisher,whichownsB&QandScrewfix, reporteda

38%jumpinlike forlikesales lastweek.

Dogowners,whowere advisedthatpets cannot getortransmit

coronavirus:much-circulated reports thatapomeranianin Hong

Kong hadtestedpositive for Covid-19 turned out tobe false.

Bad week for:

Brexitnegotiations,after Michel Barnier,theEU’s chief Brexit

negotiator, revealed that hehadtested positive for Covid-19and

wasconfined to hishome. “I’m fine,morale is good,” said the

69-year-old inavideo message. “Inaturallyfollow all the

instructions.”Britain’schief negotiator, David Frost, wasalso

self-isolatingthisweek.Evenso, Boris Johnson continuesto

believe the UK will meet the31December Brexitdeadline.

Ocado,whichbrie flyhad to close itsonline store,after being

overwhelmedby demandfor it sdeliv erie s. Various real-world

supermarkets have nowinstituted priority hourswhenelderly

people, and keyworkers,can shop.

Emergency powersbill

The Government passed all

stages of its 329-page

emergency bill through the

House of Commons on

Tuesday, granting ministers

greater powers to deal with

the Covid-19 crisis. It is

expected to be the last piece

of legislation passed through

Parliament during this

session. Parliament was

settoclose onWednesday

evening, having initially been

scheduled to break on

March; there were plans for a

managed return on 21 April.

The temporary powers in the

bill, which ministers stressed

would only be used when

“strictly necessary”, include

the ability to restrict events

and shut down premises

such as pubs, and to impose

fines in cases of non-

compliance. Officials can

close borders, and police can

force those infected with the

virus to stay inside.

Constructionworries

TheGovernment this week

defended its decision to

allow construction sites to

remain open, after workers in

the industry expressed fears

about the spread of the virus.

Despite ordering people to

stay home if possible, the

Government said that people

can go to work if they cannot

work at home–including

construction done safely in

the open air. Builders,

however, said they felt

“angry and unprotected”.

Crowncourttrials halted

Allnew jury trials in England

and Wales either collapsed

or were suspended this

week, as judges moved to

“ensure social distancing in

court”. Lord Chief Justice

Lord Burnett said existing

crown court trials should

be brought toaconclusion

where possible, with

decisions about individual

cases placed in the hands

of judges. Scotland and

Northern Ireland have

enacted similar measures.

Marvel Comics has

introduced its first gender

non-binary superheroes –

and named them Snowflake

and Safespace.Anew TV

series,The New Warriors,

will feature the pair, who

are twins. Snowflake has

the power to fire crystallised

snowflake-shaped

projectiles; Safespace can

createabig pink forcefield.

Marvel said that the names

were meant to be “post-

ironic”. Many, however,

labelled the characters’

names ill-judged and “out

of touch”.

Psychs,aSouth London

rapper, has releasedadrill

trackentitledSpreadin’,in

hopes of raising awareness

about the coronavirus.

While the 18-year-old’s

lyrics bemoan the loss of

football on TV, he also urges

people to avoid hugging

and shaking hands.